The success of the Yeovil Town Ladies team inadvertently created an opening for Hamdon Media to begin a new contract with Opta Sports in October 2017.
Their promotion to the FA Women's Super League meant there was a vacancy for an in-ground analyst to cover their home matches at Huish Park. And right on cue, I stepped in; the move has also led to me also covering Southampton's under-23's, Bristol City Women, AFC Bournemouth, Bristol City and many more. By the end of the 2018/19 campaign, I had covered fifty matches for Opta.
The 2019/20 season was devastated in spring by the arrival of the coronavirus but I covered another 42 matches this season including a Premier League game at Aston Villa in December.
Some of the grounds I've visited are below...
Grounds Visited with Opta
Huish Park, Yeovil (Yeovil Town Ladies, Yeovil Town Men) St Mary's Stadium, Southampton (Southampton u-23's, u-18's) Fitness First Stadium, Bournemouth (AFC Bournemouth) Viridor Stadium, Taunton (Yeovil Town Ladies) Staplewood Campus, Southampton (Southampton u-23's) Woodspring Stadium, Weston-super-Mare (Yeovil Town Ladies) Madejski Stadium, Reading (Reading) The County Ground,Swindon (Swindon Town)
Hogwood Park,Reading (Reading u-23's)
Rodney Parade, Newport (Newport County) The Avenue Stadium, Dorchester (Yeovil Town Ladies) Ashton Gate, Bristol (Bristol City)
Stoke Gifford Stadium, Bristol (Bristol City Women)
The New Lawn, Nailsworth (Forest Green Rovers) Memorial Stadium, Bristol (Bristol Rovers) Jonny-Rocks Stadium, Cheltenham (Cheltenham) Adams Park, Wycombe (Reading Ladies, Wycombe) Villa Park, Birmingham (Aston Villa) The Valley, London (Charlton Athletic) Landore Training Ground, Swansea (Swansea u-23's) Bearwood Park, Reading (Reading u-23's, u-18's)
